The Sun. — London, England, 1818-10-01 00:00:00

appoint a set of Gentlemen as a Committer! for A TiArticuhr purpose, and afterwards to, refuse to bear their opinions upon the subject which they lead-met to consider. Mr, P. MOORE conceived that • the authority and powers ofl,hc Select Committee had been al- Teady ,set at rest by the decision of the Lord Chaucellor ; and after that, .he thought the ge net al meeting of the proprietors Ought not to he bound by any act of theirs. The fact was, that these individuals, highly , respectable no doubt, had acted in a manner calculated to destroy the very inundation of the establishment. They had alyeady.bten instruineotalin preventing some ar rangements with. respect. to . pecuniary matters, which would. have been of the utmost service to tficTheßtm tie was certain that .the formation of: 4bis.pai . ty,. if they, gained any influence with the proprietors, would not tend to benefit the concern ioany war. .„ Alderman Cox objected to ,the reading of .the Repot t.; and observed that -meao3 had been taken by one Gentleman (tilt. George Robins) to bring . to tie present Meeting such Members as were. most likely to support .particular measures ; and he read a Circular better, not, he observed, a ge neral one, but one sent to particular persons by. Air. Robins, calling upon them, as they valued their interest. in Drury-Land Theatre, to attend Iva, the present occasion, when six "Members of the General Committee were to be chosen. This %Teti signed Mr. Robins's name, but the writing was in the baud of his Solicitor (as was understood). Mr. G. LAMB expressed his surprise at this ob •servation of the last speaker. Surely the Meeting were not., bound to re-elect all Members who were tgoing out by ballot. There could not on the present occasion be any great fear that all the Members would be refused, for there were six Gentlemen applied to, all of whom . had refuscd.to accept of a situationite the Committee, because, as some of them observed, they - ,donceived the Establishment had been degraded to the character. of a Minor Theatre, and below it. Mr. P. Mootth said alew words to order, ob jecting to this. Mr. LAMB observed, that he did not use the words as his own, but as those of some of the Gentlemen who had refused, as he had mentioned, to.beconte_ Members of the General Committee. He was surprised that the worthy Auditor (Alder Man Cox) should have conceived that this Report would be productive of a division of power or authority, or would cause any injury to the, Theatre... With respect to what. itad been said by the Lord Chan cellor in the decision upon the injunction, it could not, in his opinion, be at all construed into an as-. sertion that the Special Committee should not have been appointed ; his observations had quite a different tendency. As to the Report which he then held in his hand, he should state that, if his motion for the reading of it was not carried, he should read it as part of - his speech. Mr. P. Moons said, that his object in opposing the bringing up and reading of this Report was, there might be only one authotity in the • Thea , it for tt number of conflicting authorities would be productive only of its ruin. Mr.,Cootc opposed die reading of the Report. r%lr. COCRIF a asked whether any such thing was tvur hetete heard of, as appoitoktg a Com mittee to to,dre a Report, and afterwards refusing to hear 'chat it was they had to say ? Mr. CALCRAFT conceived that there ought to be no objection to the reading of the Report. He -was one of the Special Committee, and had agreed to the Report, the refusal to read.which, he thought, would be a very strange and unjust pro ceeding. The powers of the Committee would be come extinct when this Report was read, and it would be a singular proceeding to rtfu'se to hear them on the very subject to which their attention had been directed.—(Hear, hear !)—He could not conceive why any objection should be made to it, except that which came from the Gentle man (Mr. I'. Moore, as understood) who seemed to be sole director on the present occasion, and ‘v!,e could not bear in his own court to hear any thing disagreeable, or at all contrary to his own opinions.--(Hear, and a laugh.) The CHAIRMAN, before putting the question helter the report should be read, observed, that the Special Committee had been appointed by a General Meeting; that they had not yet been dis solved by any motion, and therefore it could not be said that they did not exist---(Hear, hear !) They had been acting with the General and'Sub- Con»nitters, - and he conceived that they ought to be heard in their Report. The question was then put, and carried in the affirmative by a large linijority. Mr,. LAMB then began to read the Report. It commenced by stating, that the Special Commit tee had been appointed by a general meeting of Proprietors; that in pursuance of the object of their appointment, the Committee had recom tuendedpa proposition, which had been adopted by a General Meeting, namely, that the sole direc tion of the Theatre, the appointment of Manager, and the selection of such pieces as he should think fit, should be given to Mr. Colman. They had also proposed, and it were agreed to, that the pre= sent Sub-Committee were entirely unqualified for the management which had been intrusted to them, and that a compromise should be made with the creditors. This was followed up by an offer, by six individuals, to subscribe a sum of money, 4,500/,, towards carrying on the concerns for the present. Not withstanding these had met the con currence of the General Meeting, the Committee had learned, that no steps had been taken to carry any of them into effect ; that they (the Sub-Com mittee) not only had mit engaged Mr, Colman, but were in actual treaty with Mr. S. Kemble to undertake the management of the Theatre ; they therefore, in July last, sent to the Sub-Commit tee a protest against their proceedings, offering at the satin: time, if they acted according to the ge- Leral sense of the Proprietors, to co-operate with them. No notice having been taken of this, and no step taken to carry the former Resolutions agreed to into effect, the Committee, understand ing also that Mr. S. Kemble had been actually en gaged, in opposition to the known wishes of the rn v i,torg, did give a notice of an injunction in Cliaticcry, to check any further proceedings of the Committee,untilthe resolutions of the general body ere complid wail; and, in a few d a y s a f t er ,by the advice of ye' y able counsel, that injunction was Moved for and obtained. The object of the Se lect Committee in this was not to shut up the Theatre, but to bring those individuals (the Sub- Committee) back to•a proper sense of the rhity they owed to the Proprietors at large. The Re port then noticed the result of proceedings in Chancery, and then proceeded to an act of the General Committee, the lowering of the, .prices. This the Special Committee formally protested against, as pregnant with ruin to the interest - of the Proprietors. It was a measure agreed to by a body of seven individuals, four of whom were members Of the Sub-Committee, and one. the Auditor of Accounts..So far had the Special Committee been from adopting such a measure us this, or from, as was alleged, shutting up the Theatre altogether, that they had agreed to open the Theatre . , 'at the usual time, with the old prices, but kith increas ed attractions. Alter noticing the means which tlie Special Committee were about to have had re course to for the payThent of the debts, means which they had strong reason to believe matl have been filially successful, the Report expressed their hope, that the Sub-Committee, whose ne glect, disobedience, and Osmanagement,_had al really been productive of so .much loss to the pro. prietors, would feel themselves bound to. make good that loss from their own resources. The Report next stated, that the Special Committee had , full reason to know that Mr. Colman would have engaged,- but no application had been made to him by the Sub-Committee for months before the re-opening of the season, neither had Colonel Patrick Douglas nor Mr. Wilson resigned, as hail been before intimated. In conclusion, the Repot t called upon the proprietors to exert them selves, and to take such step! us would prevent what remained c,f their rights from being further encroached upon, and - trout having their property bunt:erred with increased d e bts. It was then moved amid seconded that this Re port be approved. The question wps put, and on a show of hands, the Chairman deckled it to be carried in the affirmative. _ _ _ Mr., P. Moons was, not satisfied with - the de cision, and demanded a ballot, which was granted accordingly. Before the scrutinizers proceeded to the ballot, Mr. Moons observed, that his object in having applied to Parliament last Session was to comply with the standing orders of the House by an early notice, but that the application was not in tended to be in any way in opposition to the ge neral will of the Proprietors. Mrs. BUTLER then addressed the Chair nearly in these words Mr. Chairman,. I wish to be informed of the reason why Mr. J. Johnstone (Irish Johnstone), one of the greatest :ruppotts of .the.Theatre, and the most popular public favou rite, is not at present engaged, and how does it happen that his services were dispensed with so suddenly ?" The Co AIRMAN.--" Madam, your question shall be attended to ; but at present the ballot is about to commence : after that is concluded, 1 shall ask the question of some of the-Sub-Com mit.tee, for your information." The ballot then went on ; and, on a scrutiny, there appeared For approving the Report liEi Againbt it Majority —3 The Report was received _and approved accord ingly The Chairman was then about to proceed with the ballot for the six Members of the General Committee, When _ _ Mr. COCKER begged to offer a few remarks be fore it commenced, on the subject of some papers which had been circulated by the Sub-Committee, purporting to be Reports from them and I be-cie nerd Committee, but containing what he must term many things the very reverse of truth. In some part of these the conduct of the Special Com mittee seemed to be particularly alliided to, and their proceedings treated with contempt. Mr. Cocker was about to read some parts of those pa pers, when Alderman Cox rose to order ; he conceived it would be irregular to have any of them read. There was no motion before the Meeting, and in order to go on with the regular busintss of the day, he should move that the ballot be forthwith pro- ceeded in. The CHAIRMAN said, that if Mr. Cocker meant to conclude with a motion, hie was in order. Mr. COCKER said that Was his intention, and continued his speech. The Sub-Committee had, he observed, objected to the Report of the Spe cial Committee, as being on:y their opinion—but this was an error : the opinions of the Select Committee had been approved by a General Com mittee, which they . were hound to obey. In one part of the Report it was said, that steps had been taken to engage Mr. Cullum' that the Sub!. Coinmitteeihad sent to know the terms on which lie would consent to accept it ; but that Mr. Colman's answer, which was, that he would state his terms as soon as the pecuniary embar rassments of the Theatre bad been got rid of, had of course concluded the negotiation. .This part of the report he (Mr. Cocker) contended was incor rect, and went on to spew, from the former de claration of the Sub-Committee, as to the arrange ment of the pecuniary embarrassments, and from their letter to Mr. Colman, 'and his answers, that his having required the Settlement of those pecu niary difficulties, before he stated his terms, ought not to have put an end to the negotiation, if they *ere really disposed to go on with it. Ile next adverted to the placard 'published by Mr. Robins, which he maintained that Gentleman had a right. to do as a proprietor. He then called the atten tion of the Meeting to the statement of the Com mittee respecting the finances. This statement, which was for two years, showed that In the season of 1816-17 the income wa5...4.43,926 0 0 Expences in same times 41,923 14 Rent and charges 5,354 17 3 This last item would, to an ordinary observer, appear as having been part of the expellees, and forming part of the gross sum of 49,2-231. ; but the fact was not so, for it was a separate charge, and should have been added to the rest. From this calculation it appeared that there was a loss to the Theatre in the season 1810-17 exceeding 10,0001. ; and from. the account of the sums re ceived and expended in the season 1817-18, it ap peared that the tote loss of that period was 9,9661, Gs. hl., making a grand total of loss in the two seasons (A 1,20,8171. 16s. I Id. and no interest whatever paid. From this the Meeting might form a general idea of the nature of the -management. With respect to the reducing of the prices of admission, he was of opinion that no thing could be more ruinous te, the concern. Taking the showing of the Sub-Committee, it was certain to he unproductive, unless indeed there was, what as yet there was no prospect of, such an ; extraordinary accession of talent to the company as would ensure constantly crowded houses. The Committee themselves had shown, that,' upon a comparison of the receipts, when the prices were at 6s. to the period of their being at 75., the difference was near thirty pounds a night in favour of the latter price; and yet, with this comparison, they thought fit, without at all consulting the general body, to reduce the price not to six, but to five shillings at once. - Mr. Cocker went on at considerable length to comment on the several parts:of theßeport of he Special Committee, and to show (bat those of the other Committees were grossly erroneous in their allusions to it. • In conclusion he begged the Meeting to keep a watch ful eye on the proceedings of the Sub-Committee ; if not, they would in time find themselves called upon, perhaps, for additional sums on their shares, which would be more than their sharesanight be tvorth. He then moved, apparently pro forma, that certain documents do lie on the table. Mr. Wlt.iosi laving observed, that if the Sub- Committee were to blame for their management, it was a blame which ought to be borne with them by his (Mr. Cocker's) colleague, Mr. Lamb, Mr.-Lasts rose, and in a speech of nearly an , 'hour 'defended hinrself from the impetations which, he said, had been attempted 'to be cast upon bins, not by the Gentleman opposite (Mr. Wilson),, for he.was the only one who had the manliness to come forward with any thing like a charge, but by anonymous writers ; by publica tions which - , it'not coining slireetly from the Sub- Committee, were, he had no doubt, under its sanction. In some of these were inserted letters, some of them private, -and conversations often confidentiel, which the Members of the Commit tee alone could know, and which therefore could not have reached the public eye without their knowledge and consent. He was free to admit that he hail a right to take his share of the blame attendant upon any ni;smanagement of the Sub- Committee up to a certain time, but then it did not follow that he could sit tamely under charges and insinuations of beiog the cause of the disas ters which had occurred since. The Honour able Gentleman then went into a long state ment of his principal transactions with the Committee to the period of his resignation. His object seemed to be, not so much to cast imputations on any of those who acted with hint, as to defend himself from those who throw the blame of every thing on him alone. He strongly denied his having ever agreed with Mr. Kinnaird to refuse a seat in the Sub-Committee, unless he were also named", and read a letter of Mr. D. Kinnaird's to that effect. After Mr. Kintraird had left the Committee, he (Mr. Lamb) offered to resign, but, at the earnest request of several Members, lie continued to give theta his services. He -took upon himself, by their desire, nearly the whole weight of business, which he endeavoured. to discharge as well as his abili ties permitted. When, however, he could not afterwards approve of the proceedings which were adopted, be resigned : and a long_ time after be was accused not merely of every thing which was not successful in his own time, but also of every failure which had taken place since then. In reply to this he observed, that there was scarcely one piece which failed since he resigned, that he had either refused or sent back for revision. Indeed so great was this,rage for novelty, and so rowed was the notion that novelty aud 'variety alone would fill the Treasury, that it was by this Sub- Committee, or by its sole Director, suggested that the Manager should be instructed to produce two new pieces every week.—(Hear, 'and a laugh.)--.. After he had resigned, he was anxious to let some of the Proprietors know his reasons ' • and with this view lie told them to Mr. Robins. Mr. Robins asked him, as he disapproved of what was going on in the Sub-Committee, to coalese with those Who opposed them, which he conceived it would be cowardice its him to have refused, and he did therefore join. Mr. Lamb then alluded to the conduct of the present sole Director, and endea voured to shew, that with his system the Theatre could not be benefited. In conclusion, he thanked the Meeting for the kind indulgence they had al ways shown to him ; and assured them, that though the present would be his last appearance on that stage, lie should be at all times ready to forward their best ruttrests.—(Great applause.) Mr. WILSON said, he only meant, in alluding to Mr. Lamb, to say, that it the Sub-Committee deserved blame, he ought to have his share. He meant not to detract from his merits, when in saying, es he now did, that he would rather con stilt him as a lawyer than a stage-manager. — With respect to the appointment of Mr. Kemble, it was such as met his warm concurrence, es he conceived' that under the direction of such a man there was the only chance of the proprietors re ceiving one shilling. Time CHAIRMAN defended the General Commit tee from a charge of neglect. They were accused of being led by a small body; it was true, and he was always against it ; for he was of opinion that a little oligarchy of five could not govern any thing, much less \a concern of such importance 3 and in assenting to their appointment, it was that they should have the controul of the expenditure until the Theatre should be let ; and moil it was let; he thought the concern would be growing worse and worse every year. Ile was also against the reduction of the prices, because he conceived it a degradation to Old Drury ; but in this his opinion did not prevail. The CHAIIIMAN was again about to proceed with the Election, when he -recollected that a question bad been put by a Lady, which had not yet been answered. He now requested her to put, it again. Mrs. BUTLER repeated her question relative to the non-engagement of Mr. J. Johnstone, and expressed her regret that any mistaken notions of economy on thts, part of the Committee should have deprived the Theatre of so great a support, and the publie.of the exertions of one of its grea"cost layout ites. serer Mr. LAMB said, that the Committee ba d consulted the Proprietors upon any engag elie i n iect which they made. It was contrary to est:11311i" rule. , n ir• The CHAIRMAN then referred the Lady S. Kemble. Mrs. IiUTLER begged Mr, Ketnble to alls-c her question.. to t Mr. KeMBLE said, the present place was the proper one for such d discussion.• s Here the matter dropped.—The ballot le, . then proceeded with, and the following G-'ll( — men were drawn as those who 5 4 10 , 1 1,1 g o not ! -- ' lO ' Richard Wilson, Esq.; the Earl of Essex • Lewis Grelfe,;Vbi Esq. ; David Ricardo, Esq.; Sir Thomas Turton ; Earl of Yarmouth. or; They were all re-proposed and elected, -",-or Lewis Gretreulle, Esq. in whose place a Prol n ' e- , t e proposed Mr. G. Robins. To this il'. Afr" o f moved an amendment, substituting the Mr. Church for that of Mr. Robins. Upon this.question the Meeting divided--• For the Motion 32 I For the Amendment 26 I MaP it). a Mr. Robins was then proposed, and the que'"°- carried almost nanimously. Ifa An apology from -Lord Yarmouth was r ea( the Noble Lord's absence. Po Thanks were afterwards voted to the ChaL lll • and the Meeting adjourned. UNPARALLELED CRUEL lA'• A dreadful case of parental cruelty was disc o ` vered yesterday morning at a house kept .1 Coto, Elliott and Leonora, his wife, No.lo, Fisher -sir it next door to Red Lion-square, Hortrorn, wb er ofi t , was ascertained by some lodgers in the hous e so f they kept their own child, a boy about , 7 v. e i ti a r os 6 age, tied with a strap of leather to the be d ` me in a corner of the back garret, where he wo sc • , bot s fined, quite naked; with nothing to lie upon for small bit of sacking, and only brad and orate' Df it his food. The case was brought to lig - c l o p,' means of an anonymous letter received Yest oita morning by the Magistrates at Hatton -C4 tpC Police Office. On the perusal of the kW!" t l Magistrates sent William Read, jun. to WO' necessary inquiries. 4 . 1- 0 Read accordingly repaired to No. 10, Fisher-sire,;;: Os.. knocked at the door, w`iicli was opened by Mrs. f.lli t wat' ". officer asked, was she Mrs. Elliott ?—She answered i 9 e firmative. .On which he asked if Mr: Elliott was.at liOra.i:a to F he wanted to speak to hint? She conducted him tloWo ' 1 ' 0 „ - , the kitchen, where there was a man sitting at the firft wi r ico e ; said, was Mr. Elliott. After a few words of iutrodaet°,ol; vcrsation, the officer asked them how many children tb e1 ,01 1 ; She answered three. The officer asked her where tb e ' s fef g ' She said, out at play. He then asked her. where Oil . I , c ol She said, in the garret. On his expressing a wish to b ',:di e b i ap .stairs to the garret, she told hen he could not, a i ' l a let . ; bins his business. He then pulled out his staff, to set ;Pr., was an officer, and came fur the purpose of making 3 „ r ,, .st o tar search. She said she would go up hrst,-and ra° ;1,0/ t r for that purpose, followed closely by Read. She u° l° ; r of garret door, and run over to the bed, in a narrosveot?,-,,,W4 room. The officer laid hold of her, and pulled he r found the pour child as above described. very lady occupies the first floor, and there )vent: settle ge iV -and ladies on a visit to her. e Read called them - tip to the garret, where they I"' u ,as tresses to the horrible state of the poor child: h e : 3 ,5 11 , 1 : 4 4 'Addy naked, tied with a leather strap under both a' di the body to the foot of the lied, lying on the bare hoa'ilfer",o was a small bit of sacking at a short distance, snri rise W. to lie on; he had coot plvtely lost the use of his of exercise; he was led on bread and water; arts with filth. The officer with difficulty unloosed the' t t the bed-post, but left it round the child's body " the poor boy in a blanket, and carried hint in I),9,liott•' Hatton-garden Police-ethee, and also conveyed ,lino '0 his wife handcuffed together in a hackney-co:rob, aa/s P M Magistrates, where all the inmates, and those %,°') a visit there, and who witnessed this dreadful se cd , e ,: o r 0 00 tended. The Office seas crowded to cxcess. Th e a I 't rar was produced naked, tied round the body witu v a , sight struck all with horror. " Tbe witnesses proved that the child had been i° Lion described for nearly four months. ,• 0 10 On the nude prisoner being asked what th e child was, he said it had never been cbristenJti.--- Otficers of St. Andrew's, Holborn above the Pi who ordered the child to be carried to the via l 7 o ll,, ,,, li i ite every care to be taken of biro. The pr i s oner s i Clo t the execrations of all present, were committed , - to G alli t well prison in default of bait. The parish i otewl the prosecution. tr! IA . CORONIIR'S InqUiSi tioll ' " yesterday before THoMAS STIRLING , E SCI le s nor, at the Spread Lijagle, Broad-streets Sboild:14); upon the body of Johanna- Deggao) 3 (1 ,014 tweet five and six years of age, wiwsell, spir t t produced by an excessive quantity of 1 0 '1 1 tett;' e being given to her by a woman 0 30 v e , stir ro.,t Bryan, Who is in castody, as sta ted in (ier a sao Report yesterday. Verdict—Wit/al Ma r Eleanor Bryan. g of ie 'The ugilistic contest fo r grand • s o f • ee f aside, between Cabbage (the Scroggu 1". , p of ,fil tot) and Abraham Newton, took Pig" I .0 1 day, within three miles of Chippenb 3 , l9 :,, o o lls ', , ,- shire. After a desperate battle 0 f l the 0 . 1 1 downright fighting, Cabbage pro ve ' 311 F:19.00 tor, Newton had been successful 1 ,," 000 per' utter battles. There were H e art y 3"' o f present. 1 , 0 4 6 4 Freemasons, (No. 321,) held at. I ..ro jog tOJ As M. 5, rintLYED, Master of . 1 1 1 e e c ) ;.th i e le l : rl e Wheel, in Bislropsgate-street, was t of u eigter) front thence, between the hours 0 1 , '' vas c 4 twelve o'clock Ll tea Monday even i ' l 0 u ,„ ' 1:11° , vsl tucked in oundstlitch by three 0 i r is t i zer down, severe; y- beaten, and robbed„,e., f tie fi t ' money, masonic insignia, and jewel s ti cs ore . with which the villains.effected their ger...... 71arket. Ships at COAL '3o' Pr'cus 0 3 ° gd• Ships SOld• 4"S• ewc-istle • 40 ..... 4; 5 . 0 ,11 t p 6 N Sunderland ..5 •. 3. (''' • • • ..... Od oat tr - H. nk Welshyo Monday, od af pGy t O. ....... ~.s t rg " O • ' • 0 11° 1 1,K MATIBIED • p e r. On Tuesday last, at Leann ntzton, the f vrest°"' son, Thorns Robert Wilson trance, Bs+ ° s , ic tslii re. shire, to Miss Freer', of Malvern-hall, • • tf fi ljct Mf # ' • wifeniED str O ee n ot, l;f a o ,di n re d .l a j y o l li a l s ) t i; 0 11 1. / t a , r i of n y h_ s e t r r o:: t d .. 5 " . e 1 . 3 1 : 10 10 -i°ljl.l , On Tuesday night, the 29th ult. hi, 12 11 J 'S i tet l 3l: r sIB ‘, l •It , :r E 1:: s j 38 '.;el°'P' 6 '') ,e r g, To. -', •, ,0 cl'• AVIS, °I C It LONDON: Printed by J. B. CAlt..7.•Th 1 .; 'P l e ptc l . Ormond-street, Queen-square; " ' t u ra' , ' 3t t SCRIPPS, of No. 7; South Nid"rrs „i„Oel Office, No. 112, Strand ; w!lerc Ad ce _ p d. • Letters, &c. (post-paid) must he address` r,. 111 .1,1 (s) 1 !),() • •:1 . 11 .11„, • 44 en . t g . ir 1 Y Of I I': 3 1 , qt 14';. (0; 4 '4 h: